A Textual and Structural Analysis of Mark 16:9-20 41 order to communicate his message. The message is partly discovered in the progression of the disciples’ reaction to the resurrection of Christ, from unbelief to preaching everywhere. These three concepts, Jesus’ appearing (and resurrection), belief (or unbelief), and preaching, appear several other times in the passage and thus also become elements of its thematic unity. In addition to each sub-unit recording that Jesus appeared (ἐφάνη, ἐφανερώθη), the first sub-unit says that “he was alive and had been seen” (ζῇ καὶ ἐθεάθη) and the third sub-unit refers to “those who saw him after he had risen” (τοῖς θεασαμένοις αὐτὸν ἐγηγερμένον). In addition to the references to the disciples’ unbelief in the first two sub-units and their preaching (and thus belief) in the last, the last sub-unit also refers to faith five more times (τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν καὶ σκληροκαρδίαν, ἐπίστευσαν, ὁ πιστεύσας, ἀπιστήσας, τοῖς πιστεύσασιν). Finally, each sub-unit contains the con- cept of preaching or announcing: Mary reported Jesus’ appearance, the two disciples reported Jesus’ appearance, Jesus commanded the disciples to preach, and the disciples went out and preached. The content of the disciples’ message can be implied from the parallel to the other reports: preach that Jesus is alive! In addition to these themes, there is also the unifying sub-theme of the demonstration of supernatural power. Mary is identified in sub-unit one as the one “from whom he had cast out seven demons” (παρ ἧς ἐκβεβλήκει ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια). Some have argued that this identification indicates that Mary is being introduced for the first time and therefore reveals that the LE has a different author or is from another work. How- ever, as Terry points out, this is a literary device that identifies someone who has already been introduced in the form of a flashback. Mark uses this device four other times in his gospel. The author may be using this device to make a special emphasis. Its presence becomes even more signi- ficant as one notices that each sub-unit mentions some demonstration of supernatural power. The second sub-unit mentions the fact that Jesus appeared “in another form,” which, as we learn in Luke, caused them not to be able to recognize him. The third sub-unit includes the miraculous signs that will accompany those who believe. Embedded in the third sub-unit is the direct discourse of Jesus. This contains one exhortation and three assertions. The exhortation is Mark’s version of the great commission. It focuses on proclamation, like Luke, instead of discipleship, like Matthew. It emphasizes the universality of the mission even more than Matthew and Luke by making the territory “into the whole world” (εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἅπαντα) and the audience “all creation” (πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει) instead of “every nation. “ The first two as- sertions are parallel and have unique structural features of their own.